St. Pius X High School (Albuquerque)

Infobox School
bgcolor_section= #ffcc00
name = Saint Pius X High School


motto = Teach Me Goodness, Discipline, Knowledge
established = 1956
type = Private
affiliation = Roman Catholic
district =
grades = 9-12
president =
principal = Barbara Rothweiler
head of school =
dean =
faculty =
staff =
students = 1,000
enrollment =
athletics =
conference =
colors = Black and Gold
mascot = Sartan
free_label =
free_text =
free_label2 =
free_text2 =
location = 5301 St. Joseph's Dr. NW Albuquerque, NM 87120
coordinates =
country = USA
homepage = http://www.saintpiusx.com

St. Pius X High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was established in 1956. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe. It was administered by the Basilian Fathers from 1965 to June 2000. In July 2000, Dr. Mary McLeod became the first lay principal in the school's history. McLeod was succeeded in July 2004 by Barbara Rothweiler. The school is located on Albuquerque's west side, on the campus that was formerly the location of the University of Albuquerque. St. Pius X is a co-educational institution that serves over 1,000 students in grades nine through twelve.

The school has a student body that closely mirrors the ethnic makeup of Albuquerque-55 percent Hispanic, 40 percent Anglo, four percent Native American, one percent African American and Asian. Though the vast majority of students at St. Pius X are Catholic, the school is open to students of all faiths, offering a college prep education, along with total, supportive Christian spiritual formation. Tuition has risen steadily over the years toping out at $8,450 for Active Catholic parishioners and $10,200 for non-donating students in 2007-2008. St. Pius X is Albuquerque's only Catholic high school.

St. Pius X's mascot was originally the Panthers but was shortly changed to Sartans after the school was formed.

"Sartan" is taken from Pope Pius X's surname "Sarto." It can be translated in Latin and Italian to mean "tailor". Thus, the Sartan mascot is a pope, with a needle in hand for battle.

Notable Alumni

* Kenny Byrd Kicker, Detroit Lions, University of New Mexico
* Mike Mullane, Astronaut
* John Ryan, New Mexico State Senator
* J. Sanchez, notable entrepreneur & producer; former Chairman Orlando Chamber, profiled on MTV, founder of The Fireball Run.
* Mike Judge, Creater of Beavis and Butthead
* Gregory O'Brien Famous Guitar Player, The Urmps

Notable Faculty

* Jorge Tristani, Jr. - The winningest high school soccer coach in New Mexico's history and 2008 Soccer National High School Coach of the Year, amassing a 402-89-34 record and winning 15 state titles in 24 years.

Rivalry With Albuquerque Academy

The Albuquerque Academy Chargers hold a fierce rivalry with the St. Pius X High School (Albuquerque) Sartans that has lasted for decades. Albuquerque Academy and St. Pius had evenly matched teams and were the largest two independent schools in the Albuquerque metropolitan area for years, fueling the rivalry which grew during the 1980s. Signs of the rivalry show up occasionally in acts of vandalism: St. Pius students burned a large X into the Richard Harper Memorial Field at Albuquerque Academy (although this act was ascribed by some to students from La Cueva High School. Also, Academy students allegedly defaced the statue on the St. Pius campus numerous times. In 2000, all of the fingers except for the middle finger of the statue were broken off. This caused public outrage from the faculty of both schools, and a member of the Academy varsity soccer team was blamed.

Academic Decathlon

In 1991, James Penn brought academic competition to Saint Pius X. Starting from scratch, he built up the program into a consistent competitor for the state title, winning it all from 1998-2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008. Along with being the state's most premier program, Penn and his team gained national prominence as well. Prior to 1997, the highest finish in national competition by a New Mexican team was 16th. All of Pius' finishes after 1998 beat this mark, including four top ten finishes. In 1999, the Sartan team was the National Champion of Division III (fewer than 1400 students). They scored the third place trophy in 2001, and seventh place this past year.

Athletics

The Sartans compete in District 6 Class AAAA in New Mexico.

*The Sartan men's soccer team has won the Class 4-A State Championship in New Mexico the last six years (2002-2007).
*The Sartan women's soccer team has won the Class 4-A State Championship in New Mexico the last three years (2005-2007).
*The St. Pius men's basketball team also boasts a three-peat in Class 4-A Championships (2005-2007).
*In women's basketball, the Lady Sartans most recently have won Class 4-A titles in 2005 and 2007.

External links

* [http://www.saintpiusx.com/ St. Pius X High School]

Notes and references